Green Giraffe

The green giraffe Gumi won for her at the fair was so stupid. But that didn't mean Miki didn't adore it.

Pairing: MikixGumi, minor MikuxGumi

Rating: K+

Genre: Romance, friendship, hurt/comfort

Characters: SF-A2 Miki, Megpoid/Gumi

I remember seeing the prompt "green giraffe" somewhere. So I wrote this mess in response.

Argh.

Sorry for the shoujo ai spam today. I just think this pairing is cute. Maybe I'll write some PikoxGumi or ReixMiku later…

This author's note is done. Please enjoy!

Miki's windowsill is a special place. It's large, big enough to sleep on, with a firm cushion to sit on. In fact, it was large enough not to be called a windowsill, but that's what Miki had always called it in her head, so a windowsill it would stay. When she was little, she'd sit there and stare outside, especially when it was snowing or raining. That window opened up over her family's property, which was vast and pretty. For miles, there was no one, which was how Miki liked it. No one could disturb the lovely land she had so frequently gazed out over as a child.

But in recent years, Miki's windowsill had become a place for her old and worn stuffed animals. The most recent addition was from that summer, when her kid cousin gave her a decent-sized teddy bear. It sat at the top of the pile, its glassy eyes ever observant and the blue bow tie at its neck off-center in an extreme way.

One of the most recent additions to her collection of much-loved toys did not belong on the windowsill. Instead, the ugly creature of stuffing sat on her pillow, made to look as though it were actually standing there. It wasn't an attractive thing to look at: the nose was a bit squashed, the eyes didn't quite match up, and the color certainly wasn't very pretty either. Instead of a warm green or a light lime, it was a muddy color, but that was okay. Miki loved the color green in any form.

(She wouldn't admit that she liked the color because it was close to the color of a certain someone's hair.)

But this ugly creature wasn't all bad. It was, in fact, quite nice. The animal was the perfect size to hug properly or fall asleep with, unlike some of the huge stuffed animals that accompanied each other by her window. And it was soft. Really soft. Which was part of why Miki hadn't tossed it yet.

Another part of it was who had given it to her.

Miki could pretend she hated the thing. She could tell the person who gave it to her that the hideously green giraffe made her sick and why would you even think to give it to her, anyway? Unfortunately for her, no one believed her, especially after seeing the thing seated attentively on her pillows.

But she couldn't get rid of it. Her best friend in the entire world had given that to her. She wouldn't give it up for anything, even if it was ugly.

Some days, she found herself far too attached to the stupid thing. There had been times, both on school days and on weekends and on those empty days when there was nothing to do on break, when Miki would stay up in her room, holding that stupid, stupid green giraffe to her chest like it was the perfect substitute for the human contact she really desired.

The truth was that silly giraffe made her feel like Gumi was there again, the Gumi who was her best friend. The one who thought a green giraffe was a good present. During the tougher times, she could pretend that Gumi was there for her, despite being on the other side of the country. She missed Gumi. But at least she had the giraffe.

There had been a few times that poor animal had been subjected to Miki's rage. Once, in July of last year, it had been hurled across the room and against the opposite wall when Gumi hadn't answered any of her texts for three whole days. The last time had been a few months ago, maybe in September, just after school had really gotten going and became stressful again. That was when Miki found out that Gumi had confessed to Miku, a friend of hers from her own town. The giraffe had ended up in the front yard and days had passed before Miki had gone out to pick it up and shoved it into her desk drawer.

Stupid Miku. Stupid giraffe.

Stupid Gumi.

Miki hated living so far away from her best friend. She wanted to be a part of her life, too. She wanted to see her more than once or twice a year. She wanted Gumi to be there with her all the time. She wanted…

She wanted to be Miku. Stupid Miku with her stupid smile and stupid laugh and stupid voice, because in all honesty, she would have picked Miku over herself, too. Miku was nice. Miku was pretty. And above all, Miku lived all of three miles from Gumi.

Miki was pathetic. She had her giraffe. The stupid, ugly giraffe from that town fair years ago. Who knew why Gumi gave it to her in the first place. Maybe she found it just as ugly as Miki did and wanted to shove it off on someone else. But that wasn't like Gumi. That was like Miki.

But there was a reason that giraffe no longer sat with its long neck bent awkwardly in the largest drawer of Miki's desk. Reasons, plural, in fact. Honestly, Miki couldn't really bear to have it out of her sight. And she could never stay mad at Gumi. And besides, that giraffe was her direct mental connection to Gumi. Her best friend. The girl who understood her so well and put up with so much of her nonsense and attitude problems and anger issues. Gumi who didn't love Miku (but certainly adored the adorable girl) but who certainly loved Miki, even if Miki was too stupid or too proud to return her affections.

Maybe the next time that giraffe got thrown out into the cold would be when they broke up. But Miki knew that she would always go outside to get it again, because Gumi would always be there for her. The least she could do was be there for that stupid, ugly, amazing, loved giraffe.

Even if it was green.